21 Day Fix Homemade Roasted Salsa Verde

Once you make this easy and healthy version of salsa verde, you’ll never buy another salt-laden jar from the store again!

Happy May, happy eaters!! I love May. Not only do we usually have great weather in May (though we really don’t need to bring up how it literally snowed here yesterday) but all of my personal holidays are packed into this month and it’s freaking awesome. Ya know, because celebrating is fun.

While Cinco de Mayo may not be a personal holiday for me, it is actually also the day of my… wait for it… dumb made-up word coming up…

BLOGIVERSARY!

That’s right. My baby is going to be 2 on Friday. A toddler! They grow up so fast, don’t they?

Why it seems like only yesterday I was slaving over my computer not knowing what the hell I was doing.

Oh.

That was yesterday? Well there’s always learning to do, I guess.

Anyway, last year I celebrated with these amazing Watermelon Margaritas (and you should, too). In fact, I’ve got watermelon on my grocery list so that I can make them this week, too 😉 This year though, I thought I would put out something Mexican-inspired and something celebratory (so look for that something on Friday!), and this roasted salsa verde is pretty clearly my something Mexican.

If you, like me, have been intimidated by tomatillos, I’m here to help. Here’s a little info:

They’re not actually green tomatoes, even though they look like ’em and they’re in the same family. They taste more tart and lime-y.

Those paper husks on the outside sometimes smell funky (like seriously James Brown funky) – don’t take that as a sign that your tomatillo is bad, it means exactly nothing. Once they come off, your tomatillo will smell just fine, I swear.

So, traditionally, the ingredients to salsa verde are boiled, not roasted. I tested it both ways while I was working on this post (it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it). While there’s nothing wrong with the boiled recipe exactly, this roasted version just has so much incredible flavor, I promise you’ll never want to eat salty store bought salsa verde ever again! Roasting always brings out the best in vegetables and it works really beautifully here.

What’s so great about salsa is that it’s inherently healthy and generally easy to make. (Of course, if you eat it with fried chips, probably not so healthy – do yourself a favor and make these easy baked chips instead).

Let’s make some salsa!

Remove the husks and give them a good scrub (they’re kind of sticky):

Roast the tomatillos and the jalapenos under the broiler until soft and charred in spots (this takes about 10 minutes total):

Put all of your ingredients into a small to medium food processor:

BUZZZZZZZZZZZ…..

Nom nom nom…

That’s it! Now go make some to eat with some baked chips, throw in a taco, top some white chili or use in a seven layer dip! Yum 🙂

If you make this recipe be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix or use #thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂

Homemade Roasted Salsa Verde

Yield: 2 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb tomatillos, husked

2-4 jalapenos, tops cut off

1/4 cup chopped white onion (about 1/8th of a large onion)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp of fresh lime juice

1/2 cup of fresh cilantro

pinch of salt (optional)

Instructions

Preheat your broiler (to low if you have the option).

Put the tomatillos and jalapenos on a baking sheet and put in the oven. They'll need to cook until they're soft and charred in spots. Every oven is different, so you'll just have to keep a close eye on them so they don't get too burnt, turning them periodically. Mine took about 6 minutes on the first side, then 3-4 minutes on the other. Remove from oven, let cool.

In a small food processor, add all of the tomatillos (and any liquid from the pan), 1 jalapeno, the onion, garlic, lime juice and cilantro. Buzz it up until blended, this only takes a minute or so. Give it a taste and decide if you want it spicier Since every jalapeno is different, I always just add one at a time until I'm happy with the heat level.

Happy Blogiversary! I had no idea, way back in the early days of blogging that you had only started your blog a few months before I did. You seemed like such a seasoned vet by then! Also the blog is looking fab! Love this salsa, I have only worked with tomatillos once but I need to use them more. Love that you roasted them!

Thanks, Meghan! And back at ya! I didn’t know you started around the same time as me either, your photos have always been so beautiful <3 (I had a serious learning curve ;-)) - This was my first time playing with tomatillos, too - loved them roasted! XO